AROUND THE CAMPS: North Pocono's Luke Fetter overcomes injury to be a leader

joby fawcett / staff photo
North Pocono sophomore quarterback Luke Fetter battled through a left-shoulder injury as a freshman last season. Now he is at full strength and hopes to help the Trojans bring an end to a 21-game losing streak.

joby fawcett / staff photo
Senior Kyle Clark takes over at quarterback this season at Delaware Valley for the graduated Bryan Schor, an all-state selection and record-setting four-year starter for the Warriors.

Luke Fetter didn't have any time to feel sorry for himself.

A freshman who had been thrown into the proverbial fire as starting quarterback at North Pocono in the competitive Lackawanna Football Conference Division I, he suffered an injury to his throwing arm to compound an already daunting task.

Rather than sit out, he rehabilitated, played through the pain, and finished the season with 10 games of experience.

Now his surgically repaired left shoulder is full strength and he is ready to lead the Trojans to a victory, something they haven't enjoyed in their last 21 games.

"It was a long spring and summer," Fetter said. "I wasn't able to do much.

"It's been a long recovery."

Last season, first-year coach Greg Dolhon sent the young signal caller into duty. It was a challenging assignment for a player who had two years experience with the freshman football team.

But he persevered.

Even after suffering the setback during a wild Week 2 loss to Crestwood, Fetter finished the season having faced the more intense level of play on varsity, but not leading his team to any wins.

"The varsity game is fast enough and then having an injury on my throwing arm made it harder," Fetter said. "You just have to stay focused on what you have to do and not worry about the injury.

"It was tough, coming off playing freshman in eighth grade and seventh grade and jumping into varsity. With a lot of good teams it's a big jump."

With Fetter healthy and a year older, the Trojans are making strides offensively. However, they are coming off a physical scrimmage against Old Forge, considered one of the best Class A teams in the state this season.

"We have to keep working hard," Fetter said. "Old Forge took it to us, but we did some good things."

New leader

At Delaware Valley, no player in the LFC Division I has more important shoes to fill than Kyle Clark.

It's his turn to take the reins of the Delaware Valley offense as the starting quarterback. He will be the first different leader for the Warriors in four seasons.

A senior, Clark will be replacing all-state and record-setting four-year starter Bryan Schor, who, along with his more than 5,000 career passing yards are lost to graduation.

"I sat behind Bryan and watching, I learned a lot from him," Clark said. "He was a great quarterback. I think last year's preparation and in the offseason we have worked hard preparing doing our thing."

Clark is a much different quarterback than Schor.

Rangy and quick, his approach is to move around in the pocket and throw while rolling out threatening the edge of a defense. Schor was a big, drop-back thrower with a strong arm.

This season, Clark will be depending upon some big-play receivers with good speed like Lex Rosario, Rian Fowler and Kareem Payne to make plays as the offense progresses under his guidance.

"Bryan is gone to play college ball," Clark said. "I have to step into his shoes and do my job as a quarterback.

"The first scrimmage was a little rough. We have a lot of guys who have never played at varsity speed. Our line is coming along fairly well. We just have to keep coming out at practice and get better."

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